“You know most people would say we're doing this backwards, right?” Polina asked with a smirk as she entered the kitchen from the backyard. The smell of smoke from the grill lingered around her as she leaned past Oliver to steal a deviled egg.

  Playfully swatting away her hand, he grinned over his shoulder at her. “Most people haven't had your steaks! Besides, I like baking. Oh! Remind me to thank your mom for sending me that pie crust recipe. It's so much better than the store bought kind!”

  “She'll be happy to hear that.” He could hear the smile in Poli's voice as she opened the refrigerator and started pulling out everything that would be going on the grill. “Do we have an ETA on people showing up? And is T still bringing drinks?”

  The timer going off stopped Oliver's response. Grabbing his oven mitts, he opened the over and pulled out a pair of pies before he answered. “Yeah, he should be here any minute with beer and soda. I think the guys are riding with him.”

  “Gary said he's bringing chips- no surprise there, really.” He added with a grin, setting the pies on a cooling rack. “Marty is bringing his famous jalapeno poppers... And Ed has the hamburger and hotdog buns; Goodness knows we can't trust him to cook anything!”

  “Did he really almost burn down the dorm his freshman year?”

  “Nah, it wasn't really that bad. Just singed a cabinet-” A knock at the door cut Oliver off. Checking that none of the food he was cooking needed his immediate attention, he hurried to open the door.

  Seeing his friends, arms full and smiles on their faces, he quickly opened the door wide and stood to the side. “Hey guys, come on in! Just set everything on the table and I'll get it organized in a sec.”

  A touch of excitement ran through him as his friends trooped by; this was his first time having an actual cookout as an adult. It was basically a new experience for him- if he didn't count the cookouts from his childhood, which, considering how his father was, Oliver didn't particularly look back on fondly.

  But this was different. For one, he could actually invite people... But, more importantly, everyone here were people that he wanted to be here. People he valued and cared about. It was something he knew his mom would have loved, and that he wished she could have seen...

  Shaking off the brief flash of melancholy at the thought of his mom, Oliver was about to shut the door when he saw Rosalita, Poli's mom, heading in his direction with her arms fulls of Tupperware containers.

  Hurrying out the door to meet her, he quickly relieved her of several of them even as he greeted her. “Hey, mom. I'm glad you could make it! Let me help you with all of this...”

  “You're so sweet, Oliver.” Rosalita smiled warmly. “And already calling me mom! I guess that means you and Poli are doing well?”

  Before he could answer, she carried on with her usual excitable energy. “Oh, I'm so happy for you two! You make such a good couple! And this cookout is a great idea! All family and friendship, with good food...”

  “I made sure to bring potato salad, macaroni and cheese, banana pudding... I got so excited, I decided to make some flauta, empanadas, and my homemade chips and salsa! I hope your friends are hungry!”

  “I'm sure they are. I know that I am!” Oliver chuckled softly as he guided the energetic woman into the house. “I think they're all hanging out around the grill, if you want to join them. I just need to finish getting everything put away, as well as the couple sides and pies I'm still working on-”

  “Oh, nonsense, Oli! I would be happy to help you in here!”

  Oliver's smile softened as the motherly woman threw herself into helping him; she was so different from his own mom, but also so similar... “I would like that, mom...”

  “Of course, sweety! Oh! Did you use the recipe for pie crust that I sent you? I swear, as wonderful as my daughter is, she never took to baking like I do! Too much like her father... Though that isn't a bad thing, really, good man that he was. And his steaks! The man knew his way around a grill, let me tell you! I remember when Poli was young, always wanting to help him. She was so little, she had to stand on a stool just to see the grill...”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Working shoulder to shoulder with her, Oliver smiled as he listened to the story... and several more that came tumbling after. He was more than happy to here about Polina growing up... and spend some time with the woman that would, hopefully, be his mother-in-law one day...

  It was already shaping up to be a good cookout.

  “-Tyrone just calmly grabs the fire extinguisher, all while yelling at those two to 'stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off'... And, the entire time, Oliver never even looked up from his math homework!” Marty exclaimed, finishing his dramatic retelling of the dorm fire incident over the remnants of dessert.

  Ed and Gary, despite being a bit embarrassed, chuckled along with everyone else.

  “Once the fire was out, I even asked Oliver why he didn't stop to help us. And do you know what he said?” Ed chimed in with a wry grin. “He said- and these were his exact words, mind you- 'It was a complicated problem; I didn't want to loose my train of thought and have to start over. I would have helped once I was done.' Can you believe that? Fire and panic-”

  “You two were the only ones panicking.” Marty interrupted with a laugh.

  Ed started to flip his friend off before glancing at Rosalita and hesitating, not wanting to upset or offend the kindly mother figure. Instead, he just waved off his friends comment. “Ah, we weren't that bad! But, seriously, Oli just kept doing math homework! Smoke and fire, the alarm blaring, and he just carries on... It's like he has ice in his veins!”

  “I like to think of it more as me being a stabilizing element; You two are wild enough that Marty can't do it alone, after all.” Oliver responded with a chuckle, picking up his drink. “Besides, there wasn't any real danger.. Well, until the cabinet started to smolder. Before that, it was just-”

  A gasp of shock caused him to pause his answer and turn towards its source. Seeing Rosalita staring at his hand holding the drink- his left hand- he was confused for a second.

  Before he could question what was going on, she was hugging him and Poli at the same time.

  “Oh, I am so happy and excited!” She exclaimed, squeezing them both tightly. “And disappointed! How could you not tell me first!?”

  “Mom? What-?” Polina started, struggling to catch up with the sudden change in conversation.

  Rosalita grasped both of their left hands, staring at them intently- specifically at the matching rings they wore. “Oh, my! They are beautiful! How could you not invite your mother to the wedding!? More important, when am I getting grand-babies!”

  Oliver glanced at the rings- he had gotten them a while back, when he had dealt with the strange portal and the creatures that came out of it. It had always been his intention for them to wear them as a couple, though he had pushed those thoughts away while they were having problems... and he had taken his off while cooking, and completely forgotten about the impact such a thing could have... Even if they didn't actually mean what she thought...

  Pulse Ring: Part of a two ring set, these rings are magically linked- even across dimensional membranes. The gemstone of each pulses in time with the heartbeat of the person wearing its twin, and changes color when they are under the effect of various status ailments.

  The glimmer of light, barely visible, flashing from Oliver's ring began to speed up as Polina tried to stop her mom's excited rambling- clearly showing that her heart was racing from the sudden anxiety of trying to correct the misunderstanding...

  Though he knew that the ring she wore wasn't doing the same... because, for whatever reason, he felt completely calm in the moment. He actually kinda liked the idea of them getting married, anyway... Though it was definitely too soon for that, and they had both agreed on that point.

  “Mom.” Oliver spoke calmly, setting his hand gently on Rosalita's- he was a bit surprised that she actually paused her excited chatter to listen to him. “We didn't run off and get married, I promise... These are... I guess they are more like matching engagement rings? Sort of?”

  “I mean... we've talked about it, and it won't be for a while anyway-”

  “Engaged!?” Rosalita practically squealed as she went back to hugging them. “That's wonderful! When is the wedding? And why are the rings flashing like that?”

  “Six months at the earliest, mom. Though probably a year...” Polina answered with a relieved sigh. “We're not rushing things... too much... And, about the rings... Um... Oli?”

  Scratching the back of his head sheepishly- though he already had an explanation in mind, it was a bit of a stretch. He doubted anyone would question it, though. “Oh, I picked these up while I was gone on a job... The flashes are our heartbeats, but each ring sends a signal to the other... so my ring flashes with her heartbeat, and hers with mine...”

  Rosalita's eyes sparkled with joy as she bounced in place. “That's so romantic!”

  Oli and Poli shared an amused, but embarrassed smile. They had just started wearing the rings after several long talks about the future... And, with everything they had been busy with all week, both had overlooked the obvious excitement something like that could cause...

  At least they had already agreed that they weren't really hiding their commitment to each other...

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